Love Letters
by writerintheday
Summary: in which apple stumbles across a love letter addressed to her from her roommate, and in which it's christmas time and apple decides to throw herself into planning a dance for it instead of confronting the fact that this roommate is on her mind almost all the time.


For as long she can remember, Raven Queen has been writing love letters.

At the age of eight they were short and naïve. Things like 'Dear Evan, your hair is nice' and 'Laurie you have pretty freckles' were scrawled into her notebook and shown to no one- Raven, and only Raven, were to see her little notes. At thirteen, the letters got longer but were still naïve; talking about physical aspects and how nice they looked. At fifteen Raven wrote her first 'real' love letter- to Lizzie Hearts. She described how wonderful it was that she was so quick to stand up for her friends and how she made Raven feel pretty when they made eye contact. Raven had gotten over that crush a while ago, but she still kept writing love letters. She pulls out her now worn out notebook whenever someone is cute and does things that Raven adores, or when someone makes Raven feel like just the absolute most special person in the world.

And recently, she has found that the recipient of most of her letters has been Apple White.

Apple likes to help Raven with her thronework in the subjects that they are both in. She likes to leave little slips of papers with songs that she thinks the other girl would like written on them on Raven's desk. She sometimes tells Raven how pretty the girl looks before she leaves, even though Raven is just waking up at the time that Apple floats out the door. Whenever Raven mumbles something to herself that she is not planning on anyone hearing, Apple listens and asks and helps Raven with her problems.

Her whole life, Raven has felt ignored, unheard, unseen. People don't pay much attention to her- better to not bother the daughter of the Evil Queen. Better to stay away from the girl who can do dark magic and messes it up more often than not. Better to not pay attention to the girl who has sent the fairytale world into chaos by refusing her destiny, the girl whose evil mother has cursed countless people and lands. People would rather pretend that Raven is not there, not acknowledge her. Raven is used to it by now. Maddie hangs out with her, of course, but it is hard to talk to her about anything- mostly everything is nonsense to the Wonderlandian.

Apple, though, pays more attention to Raven than she could have ever imagined.

Even if it's just to tell Raven that she should fulfill her destiny, Apple always, always talks to her. If she notices that Raven is sitting alone for a meal she ends up inviting her to eat with her friends. If partners are required for some class and Raven is standing there looking lost- (Maddie is her usual partner, but the two are only in one class together)- Apple always partners with her instead of Briar or Ashlynn. (It's actually kind of perfect, because then Briar and Ashlynn can partner with each other and no one is left over.) Apple always notices that Raven is present, that she is there.

For the first time in her life, Raven does not feel invisible anymore.

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Apple thinks that Raven is a very interesting person, and she wants to get to know her.

She also thinks that Raven is very, very pretty, but that's beside the point.

Apple doesn't understand why people are not all over the girl. She can be so thoughtful and funny at times, and when she laughs her whole face lights up. The sarcastic comments she makes under her breath make Apple smile. The way she doodles while attempting to take notes show her talent- although Raven doesn't see it, it's there. The little guitar riffs she plays sometimes do the same things. Apple can name a hundred little things that make up the wonderful being that Raven is- and not to mention how absolutely beautiful she finds her.

Apple finds herself wanting to spend more time around her than she has ever wanted with anyone else.

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Raven takes out her nice purple pen and the worn out notebook, so filled with dozens and dozens of letters that it is threatening to fall apart any second. There must be half of the people in her year in here, Raven thinks, and blushes scarlet when she imagines what would happen if they were to find them. Her nightmares do not consist of constant falling or of forgetting an article of clothing and going to class. No, her nightmares are of the subjects of her letters reading them to the school and rejecting Raven, laughing and cruelly. She shudders and resists the urge to rip some of the pages in the notebook (especially Duchess's, whose gracefulness and dancing inspired Raven before she discovered how mean the girl can be.)

Instead, Raven opens up a fresh new page, one that is practically begging for her to bare her soul on. It's a beautiful thing, Raven thinks, as the ink spills on to the page. (And with it, Raven's heart as well.)

 _Today you remembered that my favorite thing they serve in the Castleteria is the strawberry shortcake_ , Raven writes. _You came over to where I was sitting with Maddie and slipped half of yours onto my tray so that I could have extra. And then you gave me a smile, one that I felt was just for me. Your little smile made me feel so, so happy, Apple. The rest of the day it felt as if I was on clouds, and even now as I write this letter, I am still floating. My mind strays to one thing and only one thing when I start to daydream, and that is you. The memory of you looking into my eyes with the blue abyss that doubles as your eyes electrifies me. Every single thing about you is one that I love. I want so much when it comes to you. I want to know your little quirks. I want to know how your mouth would feel against mine. I want to discover what it would be like to hold your hand while watching a movie. I want to know where you would want to go on a date, and what your music taste is like. It's been two months of daydreaming of you, and every single day you still have the same effect on me- it is unfathomable how wonderful every day is that I get to spend around you. I hope that, somehow, I make you happy as well._

Raven sighs and marks the end of the letter with her initials. She likes Apple so incredibly much it feels impossible that those feelings could ever be reciprocated. So she leaves the notebook on her bed, leaving in search for some desperately needed ice cream.

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Apple is exhausted after a day of planning the school's Christmas dance and working out the details for decorations and food. After figuring out profit and money matters with Ginger, who would of course be baking and decorating all the treats, she was ready to take a long nap. (She was, as usual, still looking perfect, but more beauty sleep couldn't hurt.)

She decides to shower quickly before taking her nap so that she feels fresh. And making her way across the room with her robe, she spots an open notebook on Raven's bed. And she would usually not pay much attention to it, but she catches sight of her name.

Now usually Apple would never snoop or go through someone's journal. But she sees her name in _Raven's_ notebook, and all sense goes out the window. Curiously peering over it, she sees that the words are in a letter format and figures that it's okay for her to read. After all, it's addressed to her and Raven is probably going to give it to her soon.

Apple wonders for a moment over if it is a letter asking her to stop nagging Raven about her destiny, or telling her that she is a subpar roommate and wants to switch rooms. Then she realizes that she could find out by just starting to read.

It starts with describing how Apple had given half her shortcake to Raven that morning. She smiles, remembering it. She also adores the cake, but not nearly as much as Raven and she'd do anything to make the girl happy.

Then it starts describing daydreams and her eyes and Apple's smile falters. It seems awfully mushy for a letter to a friend, and she doesn't understand why Raven would think about her so much.

And then she talks about kissing her, and Apple jolts away from the notebook in surprise.

Raven? Kissing her? That would be... not friendly. Not so friendly at all.

Does Raven like her? In the way that Darling likes Holly? She skims through the rest of the letter, and gasps- dates are definitely romantic, and this has been going on for the past two months according to the letter.

Raven couldn't have made it more clear what she wants with Apple- yet this doesn't stop the girl from wondering if there are such things as friend dates. And anyways, friends hold hands, right? Holding hands during a movie could definitely be platonic.

But Apple cannot explain away the kissing, and having reached the conclusion that her roommate does like her, she has to now think about what that means.

At first, Apple thinks that she could avoid this whole thing by asking to switch rooms and dodging Raven for the rest of her time at Ever After High, but she quickly dismisses the thought. She couldn't do that to the girl. Then she tries thinking about Raven, and only Raven. She blocks everything out of her mind and imagines her purple hair and soft lips and kind personality.

And she adores what she sees.

Apple hears familiar footsteps and lurches away from the notebook, hurriedly smoothing the sheets on Raven's bed down and practically flying to the bathroom. She turns on the sink, pretending that she's been there for a while. Raven is in the room, and the girl cannot find out that Apple has read her letter. Apple doesn't think Raven meant to leave it out, and certainly not for her to see it.

Apple washes her face, takes a few seconds to compose herself, and then steps out of the bathroom. Raven is standing awkwardly at the foot of her bed, appearing to be waiting for her. The notebook has disappeared and been replaced by a pint of ice cream.

"Apple!" Raven has put on an unusually high voice, and even if Apple hadn't seen the letter, she would still notice that her roommate seems off. "When did you get here?"

"A minute ago," Apple fibs, wanting to spare Raven embarrassment until she knows what to do. "Worked all day on dance details and went straight to freshen up- I'm exhausted!"

Raven lets out a small huff of relief. "So you didn't... see anything unusual or anything?

Apple smiles, trying not to seem unusual. It would wreck her friend if she found out that Apple had indeed seen her journal, so she flops onto her bed and starts talking. She tells her about her day and how she fixed the decorations coming in the wrong color, about the tinsel and how she wanted to get the whole school to cut snowflakes to hang up over the school.

Raven doesn't see anything out of the ordinary, it seems, so she starts to dip into the cookie dough ice cream and starts to bring up the obstacles Apple would come across in her idea.

The blonde lets out the tiniest sigh of relief and starts paying attention to her friend. Fairy Godmother is she thankful that Raven is there to point out all the things Apple overlooks.

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The dance approaches quickly, and Apple is so consumed with it that she hasn't had time to think about the situation with Raven. At least, that's what she tells herself.

She wishes that she had thought to take a picture so she could remember the words, but admittedly- every sentence is engraved in her head. She remembers everything that Raven feels for her. And she mulls it over every second that she is alone, so she throws herself into activities for making this Christmas the best one Ever After has ever seen.

Apple can't deny that Raven is on her mind all the time, though. She has to fill up her mind with thoughts of evergreens and jingle bells and the fairies helping her to block out the thoughts of the girl. And there is not one day that she doesn't have to do this.

Raven is the same cool, composed girl that she has always been, and Apple hates it. Why can't she mess up for once? Why can't she give Apple one, at least _one_ reason to not return the feelings?

Apple doesn't doze off as soon as she gets into bed again. Instead, she tosses and turns and looks across the room at the lump that is her roommate and tries not to think about her.

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The day of the Christmas dance is upon them, and Apple is rushing around wide awake at six in the morning on a Saturday, trying to nicely tell everyone how wrong everything looks without screaming. She thinks this is impossible- sometimes everything is off and she just wants to scream, but her reputation will not allow it. And it is not the people's fault, she reminds herself. So she keeps a cool state of mind and starts to explain to the volunteers how she would like things.

The day that she has been planning hectically ever since she found out about Raven's feelings is finally here, and Apple has not realized how all out she has gone until she sees it. She doesn't regret what she has pulled off and how much of the Student Council money she must have spent- the air is almost magical. Her mind immediately flits to her roommate and how much she would love the feeling in the atmosphere, and for the first time she doesn't linger on this. Without a second thought the blonde girl runs upstairs to where Raven lies in a lump, sleeping deeply.

Apple digs her MirrorPhone out from her purse and scrolls through her favorite music app until she finds a song that she knows Raven loves and plays it softly. She holds the phone close to the girls' ear, and grins when Raven smiles in her sleep. The purple haired girl wakes up lazily but content (The way Raven feels when she wakes up, she thinks she might be in heaven- surrounded by her favorite person and her favorite music.) Apple watches her eyelashes flutter open, her messy bedhead hair, her slow stretch, and feels her breath being taken away.

Apple shivers but manages to shrug it off, tasting Raven's name softly on her lips. She must have said it a hundred times before this, but this is the time that she really feels and hears it. Such a simple word that has come to mean so much to her. Apple bites back a smile and tells Raven to come downstairs, quick, and before she knows it, Raven is being dragged down the stairs. One perfectly made up girl dressed in a Christmas dress and one disheveled girl in a kitten pajama set are what the early birds of the school see this Christmas eve morning, both with bright smiles and a sense of wonderment around them.

It is not long before the rest of the castle starts to rise- Christmas eve morning is, of course, one of the few mornings of the year that most people are eager to get up on. Even the ones that do not celebrate the holiday can feel the spirit.

Everyone is amazed at what Apple has pulled off- even if she can't see it, the school is filled with red and green and a giant tree that went up overnight. The Castleteria is serving crepes for the first time, and even Headmaster Grimm seems to soften up at the enchanted speakers playing Christmas love songs throughout the school.

Nothing happens in classes on this cheery holiday- the teachers assign a chapter to read and some don't even bother with that, because the school is in a buzz and will talk no matter what. The snippets of conversations that Apple catches as she walks down the hallway include the dresses that people have bought, the decorations, and the gifts that people have bought for others. It puts more and more pressure on Apple to make tonight perfect, and she doesn't know how she can do it.

By the time classes are over, people are getting more and more excited, leading to Apple thinking that she might explode before it is even time for the dance. She keeps a smile on her face, though, to keep up that perfect exterior.

Only Raven sees through her façade.

An hour before the dance, all Apple wants to do is throw herself down onto her bed and cry until the sun comes up. Yet, she still rushes around trying to organize Ginger's treats and fixing the wrong lighting and looking over Melody's playlist. She is disheveled for perhaps the first time in her life. And then she gets a call from Raven.

Apple picks up impatiently- she doesn't mean to, but her nerves are getting the best of her. "Can you make this quick?" she bites, and then immediately hears herself and regrets it. This is _Raven_ , for goodness sake. The last thing she wants to do is make her roommate think that she is angry with her.

"Uh... do you want me to call back later?" Raven sounds startled, and Apple feels worse for her words. She apologizes repeatedly and tries to explain how frustrated she is, but not with her, as she tries to signal a caterer to the kitchen.

Raven cuts her off when she rambles a bit too much. "Okay. Apple, you're overwhelmed, aren't you? Look, you are doing great. You have been planning this for so long, and everything can't be perfect but it looks amazing. I'm proud of you for pulling this together. Anyways, I just called to ask how you were- you seemed worried today- and to tell you... well, whenever you're done, could come up to our room? There's something... Okay, bye!"

And just like that, she hangs up. Apple feels shaken, as if a tornado has come and spun in spirals and narrowly missed her. She's calm, though- and realizes that Raven's pep talk was all she needed. Just the sound of her voice was enough.

Her mind registers the last bit of what her roommate said and her eyes widen. Is she about to confess her feelings? Will she give Apple the letter or tell her straight out? What will Apple say? She wants answers to these questions so badly that, without thinking, she puts Farrah Goodfairy in charge and rushes up the stairs. It leaves her a bit shocked- she has never done anything like this before. Yet she runs faster, past closed doors in which hair is being curled and clothes are being laid out, until she reaches her very own closed door.

Apple pauses a little before opening the door, wondering what in Ever After she is doing. She does not even know what she feels for Raven, and her she is running to her. But still, she opens the door.

And there is Raven, earbuds blasting, sitting on Apple's bed next to the most perfect dress she has ever seen.

Stumbling a little bit, she closes the door behind her. Raven looks up at the noise and takes out her earbuds, eyes bright.

"Apple- I didn't expect you to come up so soon!" She holds up the dress, and Apple takes in the gorgeous red and the tiny hints of green. It's floor length, and what Blondie would call "Just right!"

"I knew you'd get so caught up in planning the dance you'd forget to plan anything for you. So I got you this- Merry Christmas." Raven explains, smiling.

And to Raven's surprise, Apple's eyes start leaking and the blonde suddenly cannot stop the tears that seem to overflow.

She sinks to the floor as Raven throws the dress back on her bed and hurries to her side. Apple nestles into the girl, surely staining Raven's dress with black mascara. She realizes this and tries to move away, but she realizes that the girl is holding her and now Apple doesn't want to move ever.

"I didn't mean to make you cry," Raven apologizes, looking distraught. Apple shakes her head through the tears.

"It's not you," Apple sniffles. "You're... you're just so thoughtful." She breaks down again, crying so hard that she can barely speak. "I'm so stressed because of the dance...and I can't let it show... unless, unless it's you... and Raven, I read your letter. I thought it was for me and I read it."

Raven jolts away, her eyes wide. "Which one," she breathes, and suddenly she's out the door, grabbing her worn notebook from underneath her bed and bolting away.

And Apple cries and cries until she falls asleep right there on the floor. She doesn't think she has ever been such a mess, and she is glad that no one is here to witness it.

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Raven is in tears herself, clutching her notebook to her chest and sobbing under Maddie's covers. She is absolutely torn up about Apple reading from the book- this scenario is her worst nightmare come true.

Maddie has left her alone- she had tried to coax what Raven is upset about for about twenty minutes, but not getting a peep from the girl she decided that letting her cry was probably the best thing to do in this scenario. Raven supposes she has that one thing to be thankful for. She can cry feely here, and since Kitty is out there is no one to witness her humiliation besides her best friend.

Soon, Raven discovers that she is all out of tears and that the dance that Apple has been planning for who knows how long is in less than an hour. She has a pounding headache and the only thing she wants to do is sleep, but she remembers that it is Christmas Eve. It's her favorite holiday, and it'd be a shame to miss the decorations and food that the Student Council has been advertising for two weeks. So she picks herself up and washes her face and asks Maddie if she has a spare dress that she can borrow. It's frilly and bright and pink (which is _so_ not her color), but Raven puts it on and starts to touch up her makeup. She is not ready to face Apple- she may never be and just sleep in Maddie's room forever-but she cannot let herself miss this dance. Her second favorite night of the year (Halloween is the first) is going to be enjoyed.

With a swipe of dark red lipstick, Raven is ready. She puts on her normal purple heels (which clash terribly with the dress) and takes Maddie's arm. The two make their way down the stairs where they see a sea of suits and dresses, and gasp as they see what Apple has pulled off. It's gorgeous and Christmas has never been better.

Luckily, Raven does not catch sight of Apple anywhere in the crowd, so the girls dance and sample some sweets and troop into the photo booth. The purple haired girl is finally having a good time, so it doesn't surprise her when it is ruined- she makes eye contact with a certain blonde. Raven notices that Apple is wearing the dress that she was gifted, and now she feels as if there is but a pit in her stomach. Her taking the dress feels like an even worse rejection.

Raven tells Maddie that she has to use the restroom and runs off, swerving herself not towards the bathroom but the stairs. Her stomach sinks as she catches sight of Apple racing after her. Was it not enough to be rejected the first time? Does Apple really have to make it worse?

She closes the door to Maddie's room and locks it just as she sees Apple appear at the top of the stairs. Sinking to the floor and closing her eyes, she prepares for the knock.

Instead, it is a pounding.

Apple hits the door with both her fists, breaking character and doing something that her mother would surely be appalled at. "Raven!" she exclaims. "Raven, open this door right now!"

It is only because Raven is so shocked that she throws the door open- she must get this girl to stop. And then Apple falls into Raven and all that is registered is the softest of lips and cherry lipstick and o _h my god Apple White is kissing me_.

Raven can't breathe- but maybe she doesn't want to. She kisses the girl and tries to pour everything into it, the feelings and the longing and the intensity. And then when she really, really can't breathe, she pulls away and takes a step back and covers her face. "Oh my god, what was that. What in Ever After was that. Am I hallucinating?"

Apple gently takes her wrists and Raven lets her pull them down, and they are somehow holding hands. "It might take some time to figure out this whole liking girls thing. It'll probably be a long time until I figure myself out. But Raven- I've been thinking a lot and it'd destroy me to lose you. I like you, Raven. And if you don't return those feelings, it's okay, but I just wanted to tell you." Apple takes a long breath, looking at Raven expectantly.

Raven thinks she might faint.

But instead, she falls into Apple and their lips find their way to each other and Raven may or may not be composing her next love letter in her head already.

 **Hi! I know this is a Christmas fic and we are a month past that now, but I intended to make this shorter and instead wrote much more than I expected to. I hope you enjoyed this dose of Rapple, leave a review if you'd like, and have a nice rest of your day!**


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